EDINBURGH-BORN PLAYER
IS RANKED AMERICA’S
NO 1 COLLEGE GOLFER

By COLIN FARQUHARSON

Edinburgh-born Welshman Rhys Davies, a senior-year golf scholarship student at East Tennessee State University, has been named the No 1 male player on the United States college golf circuit for the first time in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin rankings this week.

Davies, pictured right, who will be 22 on May 28, was born in Edinburgh when his father worked there. He was later brought up in Bridgend, South Wales. Rhys has won his last two American college tournaments and 10 in all in his four years in America.He won the British boys’ championship at Hoylake in 2003 and was a member of the GB&I Walker Cup team in Chicago in 2005.

He is a racing certainty to play in this year's Walker Cup match at Royal County Down, Northern Ireland in September and looks like being the next Luke Donald or Paul Casey who both starred on the American college golf scene before turning professional and rapidly climbing to Ryder Cup status.
DUNCAN STEWART LEADING SCOT

The leading Scots in the updated rankings are Jacksonville University, Florida pair, Duncan Stewart from Grantown on Spey and Russell Knox from Inverness in 34th and 82nd positions respectively.

Callum Macaulay (Mississippi University) from Tulliallan is ranked No 128 and Wallace Booth (Augusta State) from Comrie is 158th.

The full list - if we have missed out anyone, please contact us - of British and Irish players in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin male US college rankings is coming up, but first, let us have a look at the top 10 from every nation (US unless stated).

1 Rhys Davies (East Tennessee State) from Wales.

2 Jamie Lovermark (South Carolina).

3 Billy Horschell (Florida).

4 Brian Harman (Georgia).

5 Chris Kirk (Georgia).

6 Niklas Lemke (Arizona State) from Sweden.

7 Charlie Beijan (New Mexico).

8 Daniel Summerhays (Brigham Young).

9 Kyle Stanley (Clemson).

10 Dawie Van DerWalt (Lamar) from South Africa.

Now to pinpoint the GB&I players:

30 Niall Turner (Minnesota) from Cork.

34 Duncan Stewart (East Tennessee State) from Grantown-on-Spey.

46 Peter Richardson (Purdue) from Carlisle.

60 Charles Ford (Tennessee) from Leicester.

61 Gareth Shaw (East Tennessee State) from Lisburn, N Ireland.

79 Johnny Caldwell (South Alabama) from Belfast.

82 Russell Knox (Jacksonville) from Inverness.

118 Daniel Willett (Jacksonville State) from Sheffield.

128 Callum Macaulay (Mississippi) from Tulliallan.

142 Chris Paisley (Tennessee) from Newcastle.

158 Wallace Booth (Augusta State) from Comrie.

191 Tom Sherreard (Georgia State) from Maidstone.

199 Farren Keenan (Texas) from Middlesex.

264 Aaron O'Callaghan (SE Louisiana) from Cork.

277 Ben Taylor (Georgia State) from Hexham.

308 James Taverner (SE Louisiana) from London.

344 Lewis Kirton (Louisville) from Oldmeldrum.

400 Alan Glynn (Xavier) from Middlesex.

403 Fergal Rafferty (Sam Houston) from Omagh, N Ireland.

440 Alex Hogben (Missouri-Kansas City) from Manchester.

518 Ciaran McLeavey (Toledo) from Banbridge, Ireland.

555 Jordan Findlay (East Tennessee State) from Fraserburgh).

562 Cian McNamara (East Tennessee State) from Limerick.

725 Chris Carson (Sam Houston) from Dunoon.

732 Tom Oliver (Purdue) from Nottingham.

1220 Jamie Kennedy (Jacksonville) from Edinburgh.

1709 Stuart Burns (Evansville) from Auchterarder.

+There are other GB&I players at US colleges but some, like Peter McLachlan and Stephen Clark at Missouri-Kansas City have not played in the minium number of tournaments required. Students at junior (two-year) colleges do not qualify for the rankings.
ANY COMMENTS? E-mail them to colin@scottishgolfview.com